If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Comment

I have to mention #1001/1 here: Such an outstanding picture. Look at the catamaran in the back like a visitor from a strange world. And how beautiful Serenissima fits into this harbour! And of course i like the market pictures, it must be big fun to buy something in this olive shop in #1004/2!

Comment

Thank you for your interesting comments, Tommi, pakarang and Ralf. I have the impression you will be among those wishing to participate in the afternoon walk! But first ...lunch!

Often when returning from a morning excursion and going through the dining room to leave things in my cabin, I would pass some people already tucking in to the buffet! Today however the dining room was deserted, and there was no sign of food or table settings. But, unlike the person following me who was mumbling about lunch being late, I had fully read the daily sheet and knew we were going to have a barbeque outside on the aft deck!

Comment

Returning outside, people were starting to arrive and I sat at one of the tables seen here on deck 5. Up the steps, deck 6 was also set out and everyone could be accommodated out of doors.

The instant I had chosen a table, the always-efficient Marco appeared offering wine.

Having selected some ribs as well as chicken and baked potato I took a photo before getting a second plate for some salad. It was delightful sitting outdoors enjoying the sunshine and even a couple of boats and a departing ferry to watch.

Comment

The surrounding churchyard is a peaceful place. Before entering the church I paused to take a photo of the shadows of exotic trees on the white walls.

What a delight! - an Anglican church building with a touch of Lutherian simplicity in a Moorish style! It dates from 1894, replacing a small building that had rapidly become too small for the growing ex-pat community. The Sultan of Morocco, Hassan I, originally donated the land in 1880.

There are a number of memorials here and in the graveyard, some famous names, all with an interesting story to tell.

Comment

It's November ...there was even a British Legion collection box with poppies...

After this memorable blend of cultures and faiths, leaving the churchyard of St. Andrew’s and stepping back into the noisy bustle outside is in itself another particular memory of that day. It was a Thursday, and on Thursdays and Sundays a local market is set up on the pavements right outside the church.

Naturally one needs to be sensitive and respectful regarding photography, particularly of women. The image below was to some extent fortuitous, for I had been taking our guide (in the cream coloured djellaba and maroon cap}.

Comment

Moving on, you will perhaps recognise where we are from earlier - we now enter the Medina through that gateway, and take a route familiar to tourists. Indeed there are more stalls with tourist trinkets hereabouts, but I encountered none of the hassling and harassment that from many accounts plague some tourists. But we are in small groups, and it is not the height of summer when day trippers from Spain add to the already large numbers from the bigger cruise ships.

We are going for refreshments at what is undoubtedly mainly a tourist restaurant, but none the worse for that, and it has a picturesque interior oozing atmosphere. Musicians, a vast assortment of sweets and delicacies and of course mint tea - which I hope you can almost smell looking at the photo of it being poured!

Comment

This is a small square, the Petit Socco, with a varied history - from notable souk to fashionable hang out of the wealthy well-to-do as well as artists and writers, diplomats and spies,a post-1950’s sleazy slide into prostitution, crime and drug-dealing, and now a magnet for tourists!

Comment

One reads much of 'corruption' and 'mafia' with regards to tourism in Tangier, touts, 'fake' guides and that sort of thing, though tour guides taking one to 'their' restaurants and shops is surely a common enough occurrence world wide. But Noble Caledonia had done us proud - no unexpected costs at the refreshment stops, and no hard sell at the carpet bazaar we saw next.

There do seem to be men who offer their services to official tour guides as 'sheep dog' to herd the tour groups. This could also be a way of liaising with local businesses, but again seemed wholly positive in our case. I had spotted the guy and watched him in action, and was totally impressed by his abilities. He had a rather more visible up-front role later in the walking tour when there was a possibility of splitting the group for those wanting to walk farther back towards the ship, and his cheery call to action when rounding up the walkers - "Group number 2 chop chop" - remains an enduring aural memory of a pleasant afternoon.

Comment

Back on board, I narrowly missed a charming photo of a cat standing on an arrow mark on the quay and looking intently along it at the ship. He then proceeded to walk first fore then aft, and, although pausing in the vicinity of the gangway, seemed to me more shipspotter than stowaway!

The opinions expressed in this forum are those of the registrered members and shall not be connected to those of the Board Administrator or Owner. No responsibilities for what members post will be taken, though all posts will be subject to moderation for unsuitable contents. No advertisement is allowed without a explicit written confirmation from board owner. Non-approved advertisements will be deleted without further notice and member name will be banned for a period of at least one full month.